Nation's water picture mixed

Abstract

The nation's water picture for April showed mixed trends: More than half of the index gaging stations reported normal streamflow conditions during the month, while the spring snowmelt boosted streamflow in the Northeast and Northwest to well above normal levels. Parts of the Southeast, however, from West Virginia south to the Carolinas, reported well‐below normal streamflow conditions, according to a month‐end check on water resources conditions by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior.After nearly 2 years of drought conditions the three major reservoirs supplying New York City reached full storage capacity and were spilling during April. Combined contents of the three reservoirs on May 1, 1982, was 272 billion gallons, 101% of their full usable capacity. The full reservoirs and the generally good surface and groundwater conditions throughout the Delaware River basin allowed the Delaware River Basin Commission to lift its drought emergency warning on April 27.